It’s been extremely rewarding representing you on Council the past six years and I now ask for your support for re-election.   I am committed to working hard to make Hamilton a leading 21^st century city where people feel safe and communities prosper. 

 As Chair of the Finance committee I initiated changes to ensure greater accountability for expenditure and more open reporting.  This was recognized recently when I was guest speaker at a national conference for Local Government Finance Managers.

 There are opportunities and challenges ahead and times are tough.

 We must plan well for growth, economic development and protecting our environment.  I support affordable progress with an emphasis on quality urban design, well-connected transport systems and customer-focused delivery of services to residents, including free parking in the CBD.

 I offer a solid background in business and community service and will continue to put the best interests of our city first.

 

 

 

Top 5 Issues

1. Public Safety
   
   Quality of life begins with feeling safe in our homes and on our streets. Surveys of our city residents have identified law and order as a high priority. This is both a local and a national issue and we must continue to work closely with our Police to make our city a safer place to live.
   
   The increased number of CCTV cameras in the city centre together with the transfer of the Police Beat team to the Transport centre has had a positive outcome by helping to reduce crime.
   
   I supported the review of the Liquor By-Law which imposed a ban on alcohol in public places during the hours of 10pm to 6 am. While we have yet to see how effective this is the change has given the Police an additional tool to curb anti-social behaviour.
   
   I have also worked with taxi companies to help deal with the problems of taxi rank parking and availability which have been occurring in the city at night. I am particularly concerned about the safety of our young people after drinking in town at night.
2. Good planning for growth
   
   Hamilton's population of 140,000 is expected to grow by 35,000 (approx 15,000 households) by 2021 and to double by the year 2061. It is important that we manage that rapid growth with good planning and urban design. The review of the District Plan is, therefore, a vital piece of work which I would like to see completed as soon as possible to prevent the continuation of unwanted development and ugly buildings that have been occurring in the past.
3. Revitalising the city heart
   
   I believe that every city should have a city centre which is its heart and soul and Hamilton is no different.
   Like many cities around the world our city centre has gradually lost a lot of its vitality and attraction for shoppers and business over recent years. We have to change this!
   
   I would like to see work continuing on transforming the city heart into a vibrant, thriving hub for commerce, entertainment and residential development.
   It won't happen overnight and it will look different from other centres such as the Base and Chartwell. For example I envisage more boutique type shopping and more inner city apartments.
   This will involve not only physical works but also devising new ways and means of attracting people and business back into the city centre in consultation with stakeholders eg. reviewing the rating structure, development incentives and managing parking.
   I support free time-limited parking in the ctiy centre.
4. Transport - roading - congestion
   
   We have done a lot but there is still a lot to be done with major projects such as the 4-laning of Wairere Drive (in progress) and the connection with Cobham Drive.
   
   Bus patronage has improved dramatically over the last 3 years and will continue to increase as we review networks and infrastructure for the growing population to make sure they are well connected, efficient and reliable.
   
   It is important that we encourage walking and cycling to make them safer and more attractive modes. I advocate a more creative approach to using our roading spaces. A white line on a road to indicate a cycleway may be ok for dedicated cyclists but doesn't seem that safe to me. We could begin by taking a look at reconfiguring the carriageway /berm/footpath areas on our local raods and improving connectivity.
   Shared spaces for cars and pedestrians should be considered in areas of the city which are likely to be more used by pedestrians eg parts of the city centre.
5. Sound Financial Management
   
   A growing city will continue to have demands for services and activities including infrastraucture such as roads, water and community facilities and the maintenance of exisitng assets.
   
   While the community demands certain levels of service we have to balance those demands with the ability to pay especially when times are tough. Hence affordable progress!
   
   Rates affordability is always an important issue for Council and we must continue to ensure that increases are minimised by staying below the levels forecast in the long term plan.
   
   Sound financial management means that we carefully monitor expenditure and debt levels and manage risk by having the ability to defer or scale back on debt-funded infrastructure projects if necessary.
   
   

Personal Profile

I was born in Holland and raised in New Zealand so I am proud to be a Dutch-Kiwi.  I am also proud to be a Hamiltonian as I have lived here most of my life.  I think it is a great place to live, work and raise a family. Our three children were born, raised and educated in Hamilton.  Our daughter is a marketing manager and our two sons are still engaged in tertiary studies.

After graduating from University I taught foreign languages at secondary school level before going overseas where I worked in Holland and Germany for 6 years.

On our return to New Zealand my husband and I embarked on our first business venture and we have now been business owners in Hamilton for more than 30 years.

 Success in business also led to other roles on the boards of a number of organisations which added to my experience in governance.

I also wanted to be able to give something back to the community and have for many years been active in community organisations.  This eventually led to my involvement in politics.  I first stood for Council 6 years ago and really saw it as an extension of my community work.

During my time on Council I have been on a number of different committees covering a very broad range of activities.  Areas which are of particular interest to me include economic development, urban planning and financial management. 

Hamilton has an exciting future as a fast growing city and I would like to be part of a team that makes it happen.